Growing up I used to hear my parents’ play a ton of records, everything from the Bee Gees to Donna Summers. When my Dad thought, I was asleep, I remember I would hear the crackle of the vinyl spin off the words of George Carlin and Redd Foxx.  I remember my parents even buying my first 45 record and up to this day I don’t really listen to country music, but I will listen to Kenny Rogers The Gambler. The records that really grabbed my attention was not the vinyl made by singers and comedians, but those of poets, The Last Poets, specifically.

These records used to fill my house when my Dad had some old friends over, and they used to talk about how much harder it was in the old days. How they went to rallies and volunteered at soup kitchens. They also talked about getting hosed down and arrested, just for standing up for equality. They also talked how these records, like Last Poets “When the Revolution Comes,” inspired them to do more and be more than their parents’ generation.

In today’s climate, everyone seems to be conscious but as in another one of the Last Poets records, most people may really fear revolution. We catch up with Naima, as she struggles to find an “internship” in the revolution, as most of are told that you can change form within, Naima wants to change it now. She finds a job as a “racial translator,” where she challenges the preconceived notions of the double standards most of America believes people of color have. By the end of this volume, Naima starts a revolution, leaving no stone unturned, as she and her crew starts their reign of Aztlan.

Overall, the strongest of four volumes I have reviewed, as this delivers, as all penultimate installments should. The payoff is immense. The story by Jewels, definitely brings everything full circle, as her main character more than proves she is the revolution. The art by Ronald Nelson is electric and reels the reader right in. Altogether, the strongest volume yet, as the main character’s “knowledge of self,” is what prepares her for war.

Story: Jewels Art: Ronald Nelson
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Big cities all over the country has gone through change, on an almost daily basis, but a force that was briefly talked about on Netflix’s Luke Cage, is gentrification. This was a major issue in the movie, Do the Right Thing, as that neighborhood struggled with the racial, economic, and political differences. Gentrification became more apparent, when Jimmy Kimmel, last year decided to bring his show back to his hometown of Brooklyn, New York, the same borough where the legendary movie took place, and did a parody of how much a hipster paradise it had become. I know my neighborhood in Queens, New York, also has changed, due to gentrification, as it changes the racial and economic makeup of these neighborhoods, as most cannot afford to live there any longer.

There has been resistance to this change as well, as it has been known that a great many house owners, don’t sell their houses no matter how much developers offer to pay. This often leaves those who are resilient to change, alienating to their new neighbors, who tend to be of the same age/economic makeup. Gentrification brings with it, retail giants and as explored in one of The Sopranos final episodes, when some of Tony’s made men, try to shake down the local Starbucks, they fail, as even the Mob feels its outcome. This is what makes “our heroes” Naima and her crew, agents of change, as they are trying to stop gentrification in Aztlan.

In this “episode” the crew is still organizing their block party, as they are trying to figure how to lock down a block for a day for the MyDiaspora.com party. They also encounter Mrs. Wilderson, a homeowner, who has lived in the same neighborhood, for decades, and a prime example of who housing developers target, through either /and paying them to buy their homes/ intimidating through house ordinances. As with many of these events, the local police have been known to become overzealous in their efforts to control the crowd, but as shown in this volume, the essence of the event was to organize people who were affected, and not create chaos. Ultimately the crew, makes their stand against gentrification but loses a beloved character in the process.

Overall, this volume depicts how these events are organized and how even they are policed, as I have seen personally the same things depicted. The story by Jewels is funny and probably the best depiction of a community coming together. The art by Ronald Nelson, is simply beautiful as he makes the jokes jump off the pages. Altogether, another strong addition to this series, as it gets better with each volume, as Naima and her crew knows now that they can affect change.

Story: Jewels Art: Ronald Nelson
Story:10 Art:10 Overall:10 Recommendation: Buy

In a world where being politically conscious and is the norm, never has social issues been more mainstream. No one can turn on the television, listen to the radio, stream online, without someone discussing the current administration, the long history of misogyny and devaluation of women, and the societal ills which lead to the Black Lives Matter movement.  I remember a time in popular culture when people who brought up these same issues, were constantly being labeled as “conspiracy theorists”, often dismissing their claims, and often in TV shows and movies, being portrayed as some crazy hobo from the Reagan era. I remember growing up, especially when I was in high school, I read books, played bon the school’s basketball team and listened to hip hop, and if I said anything, that sounded “woke”, my classmates used to call me, “Elijah Muhammad”, because it told a truth that only their parents would say and also the movie, Malcolm X was popular at the time.

The closest person I saw at the time that resembled what me and my conscious friends talked about, was Freddie, from a Different World. She was beautiful, smart, had “knowledge of self” and wanted to educate her brothers and sisters. Her evolution on the show mirrored mines and my friends, as we read even more books (i.e. The People’s History of The United States, Behold a Pale Horse), gained an understanding of code-switching and became as most individuals, complex and well-read adults. Since that show, ended not too many forms of entertainment, comes close to showing the realities pf being socially conscious, except for Chappelle Show and Key and Peele.

Then through an article on another website I found about (H)afrocentric, it was described on that website as “a female version of Boondocks”, which after reading this volume, I feel minimized its description, and just how impactful this book was on me. When you meet Naima and her friends, it appears they were just a bunch of friends hanging out, that’s until you starting reading into their dialogue, which is the main attraction of this book, as it delves into the issues affecting them, their neighborhood, and their community. We catch up with our characters as they, begin a movement, creating a website, called mydiaspora.com, where that connects people over the gentrification of their neighborhoods. We end the book, as our “heroes” organizing an event the same day as another event.

This book by far, resonated with me in ways that, satisfied my love of comics and love of seeing positive portrayals of people of color. The story and dialogue by Jewels, is funny, relatable, and conscious. The art by Jewels, is vibrant and I have never seen an artist make the most of every panel, like she does, as in like your favorite movie, the best jokes are hidden in the scene. Overall, an excellent book, for anyone who loves comics like Love and Rockets, television shows like The Boondocks and movies like Get Out.

Story: Jewels Art: Ronald Nelson
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall:10 Recommendation: Buy